Clarification on Vitamin Schedule

Hello All

First of all, thanks for responding to my questions about vitamins previously.  I have more questions.  I am confused about the plan put out by vitalady that so many of you follow.  Is that just to show how much of each to take IF you take that supplement, or do you all really take all of those?  It is not that I am trying to get out of doing what I need to do, quite the contrary, I just want to make sure I understand.  My surgeon only has me taking a multi and calcium, and added B and D due to being low on those on preop labs.  My fear is if I really need all of those I want to take them instead  waiting for my labs to tank then have to get caught up. If I need all of them, how do you do it? I still struggle with water and protein.....about 60 of each maybe 80 or 90 on a good day. Suggestions?  I have labs next week for my appt in three weeks, will have more info then.  

I guess the whole thing about taking all the vitamins and adjusting down is a preemptive strike mind set. I would rather take them all, get labs back, and then adjust accordingly based on lab trends.  Just because something is barely hanging in range but trending down (or up) doesn't mean you don't still need to take it. The first year labs can be a little wonky as you are losing weight like crazy and your system is malabsorbing so much of everything you put in.  What happened in my case was the first 6 months my doc and I watched my labs trending in the wrong direction until he let me try Vitalady's plan. At my 1-year mark my labs were perfect and he was taking me around the office and showing me off as his star patient. I stick by Vitalady's guidance to start with her basic plan and adjust according to labs there after.

The first year you just build up on the vitamins, take them slowly by adding a few capsules a wee****il you are able to handle the entire plan. I had trouble at first with the iron but learned that I should have only taken 1 pill the first week, add a second the second week and so on until I could take the full dose. Some folks have trouble with Vitalady's iron capsule but do just fine on the pills. Some folks have trouble with any kind of zinc and just can't take it in normal doses and some have constipation issues with calcium citrate. The whole thing is trying and seeing how your body handles each item on the list. As you get further out and you have more labs, you can most definitely cut back or even stop some vitamins...all very much a your-mileage-may-vary kind of thing. 

--gina

THank you so much!  It is all quite overwhelming, but being the person I am I would rather be safe then sorry......I want to do everything the right way and get the most bang for my buck.  I want to be successful on this journey.  Again, thanks for responding, I really appreciate it.

I've only seen one or two people who ran into a little trouble with the vitalady schedule because they were 
more sensitive to Vitamin A than usual. Some people end up being sensitive to one or another of the vitamins
so if you get an upset stomach from the vitamins you need to do an elimination process to figure out what exactly is giving you a problem and look for alternatives. Like Gina says it can be better to take too much and cut back. The vast
majority of people that start out with that schedule don't have issues.  Having said that...... it isn't what I did.

I started with the 2008 ASMBS recommendations and then added things as I researched
and as my labs dictated. I didn't have any bad problems from that approach. I too found the vitalady schedule
overwhelming when I first started my research. I did look through what was on the vitalady list and added some things 
like vitamin E and vitamin K. I no longer think I needed the E but I definitely needed the K. Also, That was the first
place I saw magnesium oxide with the calcium to counter act any constipation from the calcium. That helped a lot
early on. I had to add iron and zinc by the end of year 1.

If you have trouble getting  all your vitamins in at the start do just the basics and then add something new every day or every couple of days. Some people just push too hard at the beginning. They don't help if you up chuck them.

Pete